By DAN SEWELL and JULIE CARR SMYTH, Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) — Congressman Jim Renacci chose a female former Procter & Gamble Co. executive as his Republican running mate for Ohio governor on Monday, while asserting his continued support for President Donald Trump.
Renacci, a wealthy businessman, and Cincinnati Councilwoman Amy Murray will run under the slogan: “Back 2 Business, Not Business As Usual.” Renacci said he wanted a “strong, successful business leader” for a campaign in which he calls himself an outsider, like Trump, committed to changing the status quo.“I supported Donald Trump from primary to general election, all the way to today,” Renacci said, adding that Republicans in Ohio like Trump and that the president is “getting the job done.”
Renacci is seeking to succeed two-term Republican Gov. John Kasich, who has remained a vocal critic of Trump after losing his challenge for the Republican presidential nomination last year. Kasich is term-limited.
Murray, 53, spent 15 years as a leader in Asian business development at P&G, the Cincinnati-based consumer products giant. She has since formed her own consulting firm, Japan Consulting Group. She was first elected to Cincinnati’s council in 2013.
Murray adds gender and geographic diversity to Renacci’s ticket as he faces two better-known establishment rivals in the state’s GOP primary: Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor and Attorney General Mike DeWine, who recently joined his campaign to that of gubernatorial rival Jon Husted, the secretary of state who will be his running mate.
Murray, a married mother of four children, said women view and talk about issues differently.“This will give us a great way to be a team and look at things from very different perspectives,” Murray said.“I’ve always felt it was important to have women represented in all positions in government,” Renacci said.
DeWine, among Ohio’s best-known politicians, has been in public service nearly all of his adult life, including as lieutenant governor and U.S. senator. Taylor, 51, is a CPA who assumed her first state-level elective office in 2003.
Renacci, with seven years in Congress, has labeled his foes “career politicians” and “Columbus fat cats.” Murray is considered more establishment-aligned than Renacci and she has remained largely quiet on the issue of the fractious politics of the Trump administration.
She could use her ties to Cincinnati’s deep-pocketed donor base to boost Renacci’s campaign, which is largely self-funded so far.
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Carr Smyth reported from Columbus.
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